NEWPORT — A 47-year-old Sullivan County man was killed early Thursday morning when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck as it pulled out of a driveway on Maple Street, according to a news release from Newport police.
Robert E. Bushway Jr., of Lempster, N.H., was riding his Suzuki GSXR motorcycle eastbound on Maple Street around 4:51 a.m. when Dennis R. White Jr., 49, of Newport, was making a left-hand turn out of a private driveway in a GMC 3500 pickup truck, the release said.
The motorcycle struck the driver’s-side door of the truck, ejecting Bushway, who suffered life-threatening injuries, the release said.
Although emergency medical aid was administered, he was pronounced dead at the scene, the release said.
Bushway’s partner of 23 years, Cindy Linn, said he worked as a stacker at the Durgin and Crowell lumber mill in Springfield, N.H., and was riding his motorcycle to work this week because his truck was being serviced.
She, too, works at the pine lumber mill — the company’s website said some workers arrive at 5:30 a.m. to warm up machines for a 6 a.m. start — and drove to work a little later, with his lunch box in hand. Linn encountered traffic cones and a police detour on Maple Street and became concerned when she got to work and Bushway wasn’t there.
“I knew something was wrong,” said Linn, who called Newport dispatch to ask if there had been a motorcycle crash with someone taken to the hospital, only to learn that Bushway, who was wearing a helmet, had been killed.
Linn said she was told Bushway had come over the crest of a hill as the truck was pulling out of the driveway.
“They said he didn’t see him,” she said, and that Bushway died instantly.
“I just know he was beautiful, and I loved him very much,” she said.
Police were reconstructing the collision to determine whether speed contributed to the incident, the release said, and that “it does not appear that impairment or distraction are factors in this crash.”
Newport Police Detective Stephen A. Lee said the crash occurred at 245 Maple St., and the speed limit there is 35 mph. Lee also confirmed there is a “Blind Drive” warning sign for motorists heading east on Maple Street as they near the crest of the hill.
No arrests had been made, the release said, and police plan to send the results of the investigation to the Sullivan County Attorney’s Office to determine if charges are warranted.
White could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Newport assessing records indicate that he owns the Maple Street home where the crash occurred.
Linn said Bushway had grown up in Lempster and was passionate about fishing and the outdoors, and had just gone ocean fishing.
Survivors, she said, include his daughter, Danielle, and two grandchildren.
“He loved kids. He loved my grandkids, too,” she said. “They thought the world of him.”
Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact Lee at 603-863-3232 or slee@newportnh.gov.
News staff writer John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com or 603-727-3217.